David Cobb

Running back David Cobb, tight end Maxx Williams and linebacker Damien Wilson are the ex-Gophers among more than 300 draft prospects scheduled to go through interviews, medical tests and skills drills at Lucas Oil Field in front of team officials from all around the league.

Minnesota will remain rooted in the running game for a while. The Gophers included three running backs in their 24-player recruiting class that became official Wednesday on national signing day. Canadian Jonathan Femi-Cole leads the list of incoming freshmen who will join standouts from each of the last two recruiting classes in a crowded competition for departing senior David Cobb’s spot. Berkley Edwards will be a redshirt sophomore in 2015, and Jeff Jones will be a redshirt freshman.

The signs of progress at Minnesota are plentiful. The 22nd-ranked Gophers have cracked the Associated Press poll for the first time in more than six years. They’ve posted consecutive eight-win seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003. They’ve got a chance to go to the Big Ten championship game.

Minnesota (7-3, 4-2) is at Nebraska Saturday looking for its second straight win over the Cornhuskers. A victory would send them to face Wisconsin for the Big 10 West title and a trip to the conference title game.

The Gopher football team is finding out about itself with a back-loaded schedule that takes them to Nebraska this week. They’re still hopeful of a spot in the Big Ten championship game, but more concerned about the task at hand. It is the most difficult stretch of the season, and Coach Jerry Kill is hoping his team doesn’t play so hard that it can’t keep playing.

It’s guarded optimism for the Gopher football team. They are hoping to pull off an upset against Ohio State at home at 11 a.m. Saturday. But they have confidence coming off of the blow out over Iowa, and, as Mike Max explains, they have confidence because of a tight end that’s quite a weapon.

David Cobb rushed for 194 yards and a touchdown and Ryan Santoso kicked a 52-yard field goal with 4:59 left to cap Minnesota’s comeback on Saturday, giving the Gophers a 39-38 victory over Purdue and their first 3-0 start in Big Ten play since 1990. Cedric Thompson had two interceptions for Minnesota (6-1, 3-0).

Minnesota at Michigan. The Little Brown Jug is on the line. So, it seems, is Brady Hoke’s job based on the noise coming out of Ann Arbor. Last week’s 16-point loss to Utah at home, following the 31-0 defeat at Notre Dame two weeks earlier, has made this as much a must-win game as there can be in late September.

The Golden Gophers could very well be without quarterback Mitch Leidner and tight end Maxx Williams again this week, so look for the game plan against Michigan to look a lot like it did against San Jose State: a lot of running back David Cobb.

Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner has a turf toe injury on his left foot, leaving his availability uncertain for this week’s game against San Jose State. Coach Jerry Kill said Leidner would practice Tuesday but won’t play Saturday if he’s not deemed 100 percent healthy.

The Big Ten Conference announced its weekly football awards on Monday, and University of Minnesota senior David Cobb made the list after the Gophers beat Middle Tennessee State 35-24. Cobb was selected a Co-Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 220 yards and two touchdowns to lead Minnesota to a 2-0 start.

David Cobb had 29 carries for two touchdowns and a career-high 220 yards, the most for the program in nine years, and Minnesota outlasted Middle Tennessee for a 35-24 victory on Saturday. Donnell Kirkwood also had a first-quarter touchdown run for the Golden Gophers (2-0), who rushed for 284 yards.

The Gophers open their fall camp on Friday, and there’s plenty of excitement around the program as it continues to make strides in Kill’s fourth season. Here are the top six things to watch this season.